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ABSTRACT: In the United States, more than one third of women are obese, more than one half of pregnant women are overweight or obese, and 8% of reproductive-aged women are extremely obese, putting them at a greater risk of pregnancy complications. Therefore, preconception assessment and counseling...

ABSTRACT: The updated guidelines by the Institute of Medicine regarding gestational weight gain provide clinicians with a basis for practice. Health care providers who care for pregnant women should determine a woman’s body mass index at the initial prenatal visit and counsel her regarding the ben...

ABSTRACT: Increasing numbers of women and adolescent females are incarcerated each year in the United States and they represent an increasing proportion of inmates in the U.S. correctional system. Incarcerated women and adolescent females often come from disadvantaged environments and have high ra...

ABSTRACT: In 2001, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and the American College of Medical Genetics introduced guidelines for prenatal and preconception carrier screening for cystic fibrosis. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists' Committee on Genetics has upd...

ABSTRACT: Family history plays a critical role in assessing the risk of inherited medical conditions and single gene disorders. Several methods have been established to obtain family medical histories, including the family history questionnaire or checklist and the pedigree. The screening tool sel...

ABSTRACT: Smoking is the one of the most important modifiable causes of poor pregnancy outcomes in the United States, and is associated with maternal, fetal, and infant morbidity and mortality. The physical and psychologic addiction to cigarettes is powerful; however, the compassionate interventio...

ABSTRACT: Fragile X syndrome is the most common inherited form of mental retardation. The syndrome occurs in approximately 1 in 3,600 males and 1 in 4,000–6,000 females. Approximately 1 in 250 females carry the premutation. DNA-based molecular analysis is the preferred method of diagnosis for frag...

ABSTRACT: Certain autosomal recessive disease conditions are more prevalent in individuals of Eastern European Jewish (Ashkenazi) descent. Previously, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists recommended that individuals of Eastern European Jewish ancestry be offered carrier screeni...

ABSTRACT: Spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) is an autosomal recessive neurodegenerative disease that results from degeneration of spinal cord motor neurons leading to atrophy of skeletal muscle and overall weakness. In current practice, patients with a family history of SMA are being offered carrier s...

ABSTRACT: Tay–Sachs disease (TSD) is a severe progressive neurologic disease that causes death in early childhood. Carrier screening should be offered before pregnancy to individuals and couples at high risk, including those of Ashkenazi Jewish, French–Canadian, or Cajun descent and those with a f...

ABSTRACT: The goal of preconception care is to reduce the risk of adverse health effects for the woman, fetus, or neonate by optimizing the woman's health and knowledge before planning and conceiving a pregnancy. Because reproductive capacity spans almost four decades for most women, optimizing wo...